Nine-Level Inverter Based on Resonant Switched-Capacitor and NPP/NPC Unit

By using a single dc voltage source to feed a 4-level switched-capacitor (SC) unit and a 3-level NPP/NPC unit simultaneously, a new 9-level inverter is developed in this work. The 4-level unit is implemented by cascading an inverting half-bridge with a double- or half-mode SC circuit. It involves four transistors, two diodes and two capacitors with self-balanced voltage. Inrush charging current variation di/dt of capacitors at switching instants is successfully suppressed by inserting a small inductor into the SC unit. Compared with the existing solutions for 9-level inverters, the proposed circuit has the advantages of simpler structure and lower cost per level. These make the proposed inverter very suitable for low voltage applications such as PV and fuel cells. Circuit configuration, operation, system characteristics under POD-PWM modulation are analyzed in detail. Feasibility and dynamic performance are also demonstrated experimentally.